Brent Venables shares initial reaction to Texas loss: ‘Didn’t deserve to win’
By Mark Kern
Published:
Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners entered Saturday undefeated, but suffered their first loss of the season as they lost the Red River Rivalry matchup to Texas, 23-6.
The Sooners outplayed the Longhorns for much of the first half, but were up only 6-3 at the half. It was the first game back for John Mateer since breaking his hand, and he struggled, throwing three interceptions on the day.
The second half Texas was in complete control, and Venables said that his team didn’t deserve to get the win.
“Just didn’t deserve to win today,” Venables told reporters after the game. “We still have a chance to still have a heck of a year. Lot of ball still in front of us right now.”
Mateer was 20-of-38 for 202 yards, but it was the three interceptions that really hurt the team.
In this type of rivalry, it generally comes down to what team avoids making the big mistake, and the Sooners were unable to do that. One of Mateer’s interceptions cost the Sooners a chance at three points at the end of the half.
What makes Mateer dangerous is his ability to run the ball, but he had 14 carries for only 5 yards.
This is the start of a brutal stretch for the Sooners to finish their season. After the game at South Carolina next week, the Sooners end the season with five games against teams currently ranked in the top 14. They still have everything in front of them, but it is going to take a healthy Mateer and a much better offensive performance than what we saw on Saturday.
